Rotating combination heater-turbines



4, J. B. GUIN ROTATING COMBINATION HEATER-TURBINES Filed Feb. 17, 1965 /6 W4 75/? PU p 36 INVENTOR JOEL B. sum

HEAT EXCHANGE/i United States Patent 3,312,065 ROTATING COMBINATION HEATER-TURBINES Joel B. Guin, 148 E. 48th St., New York, NY. 10017 Filed Feb. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 433,383 2 Claims. c1. 60-108) The present invention relates to a rotating combination heater-turbine.

Steam turbine technology has reached such a level of perfection that few notable improvements are being made except in the area of economies of scale. However, there are situations where compact units would be helpful, such as on ships at sea, in hospitals, large buildings and in other sites where space is costly and/or limited. An object of this invention is to make a contribution in this area. Another object is to lower fuel costs of small and medium-sized turbine installations, with an ultimate object of competing for the largest installations after further improvements in high temperature metallurgy have been achieved.

Other objects will be apparent upon examination of the drawing:

The figure is a vertical section along the main axis showing the entire pump-heater-turbine assembly. Referring to the drawing, water is brought into pump 16 from the heat-exchanger, the water flowing through water line 17 on the way. The water is forced into opening within the enlarged section 3 of shaft 2 and is ejected through nozzles 4 against the walls of rotating core 1 which may be covered with ceramic or alloy material to help resist erosion. Water turns into steam which streams through blades 21 into the turbine, the blades connecting core parts 1A and 1B. The expansion of the steam within the turbine rotates rotor which is fastened to shaft 2, which drives both core 1 and generator 15, rotating within bearings 6, 7 and 8. Bearing 6 is sealed against water entering by seal 9. Seal 9A seals generator against steam from steam exhaust channel 14. Bearings 7 and 8 are fastened within structures 30 and 29 respectively, which in turn are connected with stator 12 whose design may be altered as desired. No boiler of any sort is needed, a distinct saving in costs. There is no boiler scale to be removed: any scale formed in the rotating core will be loose enough to be easily removed. The rotating core and heating chamber may be altered to admit flames to the bottom of the core. Other changes may alter the dimensions of the turbine, the number of stages of blades, the shape of the steam exhaust channel and the exhaust channel, etc., and the shape, place and dimensions of the heat exchanger, fuel pump and water pump.

The turbine includes rotor 10 with rotor blades 11, and stator 12 with stator blades 13. From the turbine the steam flows around exit cone into steam exhaust channel 14. From there it flows through channel 14A into heat exchanger 36 where it preheats the feedwater which later repeats the cycle by flowing through water line 17. Fuel is brought into fuel pump 18 through channel 19. From the pump it flows through fuel channels 28, 28A and 28B into fuel nozzles 27 within outer structure 25. The fuel burns within heating chamber 24 and the burning products leave through exhaust channel 23. Excess water which is not turned into steam within the core is thrown out by centrifugal force through nozzles 22. Then it is carried along with the burning products through exhaust channel 23 to the outside. The entire heating unit is covered by insulation layer 2 6.

In actual operation each user will determine the optimum temperature to which rotating heated core 1 should be heated. This will be decided partly by the users circumstances, partly by peaks and valleys of power needs, partly by the fuel consumption curve. The upper limit of course will be that temperature at which the metal in core 1 shows va marked reduction in. strength or begins to reveal surface chipping, erosion, etc.

I claim:

1. A high-pressure heater-turbine without boiler, comprising:

a central shaft hollowed in its lower portion, connected with and extending from a pump communicating with a heat exchanger, through the center of an outer shell, through a rotating core which it supports and turns, through a steam exhaust channel, into a power take-off means such as a generator,

the shaft rotating within a first bearing in the lower part of the outer shell, within a second bearing set in an annular ring within and supported by the lowest stator blades, Within a third bearing set in an annular ring within and supported by the upper stator blades of said turbine, and within a fourth bearing set in and supported by the upper wall of said steam exhaust channel;

said outer shell abutting on the water pump and surrounding t'he hollow lower shaft portion, carrying the first of said bearings in which the central shaft rotates and a seal around the shaft to seal off water from said water pump, the shell being narrow at the bottom but spreading out in its upper portion all of which is covered by an insulation layer that encloses a number of fuel channels around the shell periphery;

said rotating core being a covered-bowl shaped structure with both top and bottom parts mounted upon, supported by and rotating with the central shaft, and being separated from said outer shell by the heating chamber;

said heating chamber being an annular space between the outer shell and the rotating core, and expanding at the top into an annular ring shaped space through which combustion products stream into an exhaust channel leading to the open atmosphere;

said fuel channels surrounding the entire outer wall of said outer shell in a sort of network, and being connected with a multiplicity of fuel nozzles which penetrate the outer shell, said fuel channels receiving fuel from a fuel pump connected to a fuel source, said fuel then being directed through said fuel nozzles into the heating chamber where it is burned, the flames impinging strongly against the wall of said rotating core which is heated thereby to a temperature far above the boiling point of water;

said turbine being located above the rotating core, the lowest and upper stator blades extending into and supporting annular structures which carry said second and third bearings respectively in which said central shaft rotates, the rotor itself being mounted upon, supported by and rotating with said central shaft, the stator and rotor blades alternating; and

said steam exhaust channel being located above said turbine and directing the gas from the uppermost stator blades through appropriate channels into said heat exchanger;

all components cooperating so that fuel from a fuel source flows into said fuel pump which forces it through said fuel channels surrounding the outer shell, thence through said fuel nozzles into the =heating chamber where it burns, forcing its flames at the walls of the rotating core and heating it, the burning products then passing into and through said exhaust channel to the open atmosphere,

meanwhile, feedwa-ter flowing from a water line and preheated in said heat exchanger being forced by said water pump through said hollow lower portion of the central shaft through the nozzles therein with centrifugal forces helping sling it strongly against the hot inner walls of the rotating core where it is instantly vaporized, the steam being forced upward through the stator and rotor blades, the latter turning the central shaft and the rotating core attached thereto, the steam then exiting from the top stator blades through said steam exhaust channel back to the heat exchanger, thus completing the cycle.

2. In combination, a heater-turbine system according to claim 1, and a series of small holes spaced along the upper periphery and penetrating the walls of said rotating core, just below the top part thereof, through which any water unvaporized in said core will be thrown by centrifugal force out into said heating chamber to be carried off with the burning products, for the purpose of preventing any such Water from touching and damaging said turbine blades.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS France.

MARTIN P. SCHWADRON, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT R. BUNEVICH, Examiner. 

1. A HIGH-PRESSURE HEATER-TURBINE WITHOUT BOILER, COMPRISING: A CENTRAL SHAFT HOLLOWED IN ITS LOWER PORTION, CONNECTED WITH AND EXTENDING FROM A PUMP COMUNICATING WITH A HEAT EXCHANGER, THROUGH THE CENTER OF AN OUTER SHELL, THROUGH A ROTATING CORE WHICH IT SUPPORTS AND TURNS, THROUGH A STEAM EXHAUST CHANNEL, INTO A POWER TAKE-OFF MEANS SUCH AS A GENERATOR, THE SHAFT ROTATING WITHIN A FIRST BEARING IN THE LOWER PART OF THE OUTER SHELL, WITHIN A SECOND BEARING SET IN AN ANNULAR RING WITHIN AND SUPPORTED BY THE LOWEST STATOR BLADES, WITHIN A THIRD BEARING SET IN AN ANNULAR RING WITHIN AND SUPPORTED BY THE UPPER STATOR BLADES OF SAID TURBINE, AND WITHIN A FOURTH BEARING SET IN AND SUPPORTED BY THE UPPER WALL OF SAID STEAM EXHAUST CHANNEL; SAID OUTER SHELL ABUTTING ON THE WATER PUMP AND SURROUNDING THE HOLLOW LOWER SHAFT PORTION, CARRYING THE FIRST OF SAID BEARINGS IN WHICH THE CENTRAL SHAFT ROTATES AND A SEAL AROUND THE SHAFT TO SEAL OFF WATER FROM SAID WATER PUMP, THE SHELL BEING NARROW AT THE BOTTOM BUT SPREADING OUT IN ITS UPPER PORTION ALL OF WHICH IS COVERED BY AN INSULATION LAYER THAT ENCLOSES A NUMBER OF FUEL CHANNELS AROUND THE SHELL PERIPHERY; SAID ROTATING CORE BEING A COVERED-BOWL SHAPED STRUCTURE WITH BOTH TOP AND BOTTOM PARTS MOUNTED UPON, SUPPORTED BY AND ROTATING WITH THE CENTRAL SHAFT, AND BEING SEPARATED FROM SAID OUTER SHELL BY THE HEATING CHAMBER; SAID HEATING CHAMBER BEING AN ANNULAR SPACE BETWEEN THE OUTER SHELL AND THE ROTATING CORE, AND EXPANDING AT THE TOP INTO AN ANNULAR RING SHAPED SPACE THROUGH 